We have been questioning all season long what the Washington Football Team might choose to do at the quarterback position both right now and in the future, and it seems that we may finally be getting an answer to that question.
While many of us assumed at the start of the year that it would be Dwayne Haskins that would lead the way for the next few years, it only took a few games for us to see that he wasn’t ready yet, with the team quickly moving away from him. Now, 11 weeks into the season, it’s been made clear that veteran QB Alex Smith is capable of leading this team, and a new report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport shows that he’s played well enough to convince the team that they want him back as their starting QB in 2021 as well.
Coach Ron Rivera and his staff want Smith back for the 2021 season, sources say. A nod to not only his leadership in the quarterback room, but also simply how he’s played. Smith has not said publicly or privately whether he wants to play in 2021, but he is under contract through 2022.
Smith is set to make $19 million next season, a perfectly reasonable rate for a bridge quarterback as WFT continues its search for its next franchise QB — whether it’s Dwayne Haskins, Kyle Allen or someone acquired in a trade or the draft.
We posited as much earlier this week, claiming that sticking with Smith as their QB for 2021 and making him a bridge player for whoever the next guy in makes perfect sense and offers the lowest-risk solution to their problem. In his career, Smith has already proved very effective at grooming the next guy up, with examples like Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Mahomes on his resume.
Whether or not Washington chooses to draft a QB this upcoming year to be that next guy, or they feel confident enough that Kyle Allen or Dwayne Haskins is good enough to fill that role is yet to be seen, but it’s becoming clear that it will be Smith under center to start 2021, with a young guy waiting in the wing.
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